What are you waiting for Apple, Verizon?

So I’ve been sitting nicely, waiting for my contract with T-Mobile to run out so I can jump ship over to Verizon. My family has a plan already started on Verizon’s network, so I’d love to join that and avoid exorbitant fees. While this will happen in December, the next major issue I face is which phone to buy and employ with this service.

I’ve had a BlackBerry for the last three and a half years and loved it. I feel like everyone pretty much has to have a smartphone these days or else you run the risk of being out of touch with, oh, everything. Due to some malfunctions, I had to buy a cheap, non-smartphone and use it until the end of my current plan. While this phone does the bare minimum – voice and text messaging – it really highlights how much I used to take advantage of the BlackBerry’s features. After using my roommate’s iPhone during the last year, I really feel this is the phone for me. The UI is incredible and the features are abundant. Having the ability to change my fantasy football team while outside of my house is a pretty big perk.

So you can imagine my excitement during the last several months as the supposed relationship between Verizon and Apple to feature the device on a network outside of AT&T for the first time eeks closer. However, every report I now read and listen to states that both sides are holding this deal until possibly January 2011. Since I’m waiting until December to jump ship anyways, that timeline’s not a huge deal to me – but from reading various reports, it seems to be on most people’s minds. A recent survey from Deloitte found that nearly half of Apple’s customers are ready to jump ship to Verizon when the offer is made. Another report, conducted by investment bank Piper Jaffray, found that the biggest problem facing the iPhone 4 is its lack of Verizon network accessibility – not the much-talked-about and maligned antenna issue that many have made an outcry over.

So my question is this – what’s the wait for? If Apple were to offer the device on both networks, it would gain considerable customers, while retaining at least – and I think it’s more than this – half of their current base on AT&T. I don’t quite see why this wouldn’t be profitable for both sides. In many polls, AT&T its voted at the bottom of the major service providers, as it consistently drops calls. Referencing the Piper Jaffray report once more, of the 258 users surveyed, 20 percent stated they were aware of the antenna issue but three times as many cited the lack of Verizon network as the biggest problem. I say give these people what they want! Of course, I wouldn’t mind have the iPhone available in December either. That’s just me though.